Lost Stray Lover
by Holder of Syaoran's Heart
Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn’t know this. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE!
1. Prologue

Lost Stray Lover  
  
Full Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn't know this. She takes him in and takes care of him. Syaoran eventually falls in love with her but she doesn't even know who he is. Will he be able to break the curse to tell her how he feels?  
  
A/N: I'm not good at writing romances, but I just got this idea one day and thought it would make a cute story. It's a little ironic because almost every fanfic I see is an S&S or E&T or T&Y (and so on) romance and I'd gotten so sick of it. Yes, they are a cute couple, but there's more to CCS than that. Almost all writers left out the magic, and that was one of my favorite parts. I have always loved magic. But, enough about me and my hysterical ravings; let's proceed with the story.  
  
Disclaimer: Also ironic, cause I never liked these annoying disclaimers either. CCS ain't mine. Got it? Very simple.  
  
Prologue  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~  
  
Sakura is now a grown 20-year-old woman attending the University of Tokyo in Tokyo. She lives in a dormitory with a roommate named Kohaku. Her family still lives in Tomoeda but they come to visit and check up on her often. She's still a bit flaky in school but manages. Sakura is majoring in biology and hopes to become a veterinarian.  
  
Meanwhile, Syaoran, a rebellious 18-year-old, has just graduated from Tomoeda High School. As teenagers usually do on such joyous occasions, he and his friends went out to celebrate.  
  
On the night of their graduation Syaoran and his friends rode out in a truck to an unknown neighborhood. They cruise around doing small bits of vandalism to random passing houses.  
  
At the end of the cul-de-sac was this big, two-story house. It was gray and spooky and looked very old. The house looked like the perfect spot to conclude their celebrations with one big vandalizing. They put the works on that house; toilet paper, silly string, dog poop, egging. Every traditional adolescent trick they could think of. After they were through with the house, it didn't look so bad. Like a life-size abstract art piece.  
  
The boys all gathered together on the front lawn to gaze in awe at their creation. They were all laughing and high-fiving each other as if vandalizing a house were something to be incredibly proud of. And it was kind of amazing in a way. But perhaps, the funniest thing was the fact that for a few seconds, they actually believed they could get away with such a crime.  
  
Inside the house, there was a tiny old woman sleeping. Amazingly, she was not awakened by the boys destroying her house exterior. However, when they started cheering and congratulating each other, that's when she stirred. Afraid it might be burglars, she immediately grabbed her wand. For little did they know, that old woman was a powerful magician.  
  
She slowly, quietly crept down the stairs, listening carefully for any clues that might tell her who or what the intruders are. Their laughter and cheering told her that they must be kids, probably teenagers. Teenagers were always partying around her neighborhood, with their loud music and beer and cigarettes. It really irritated the woman that they had chosen to come specifically to her house to do such things.  
  
One of Syaoran's friends had noticed that a light flickered on. This worried him. He quickly notified the rest of the group that something had roused in the house. They all ran for the truck but it was too late..  
  
The door of the creepy old house flew open and out came the old woman. Her eagle eyes scanned the property. All of Syaoran's friends had already fled but they had left him to deal with her. Of course, she spotted him. The woman was enraged at him, for then she saw the full damage that had been done upon her house. At that moment, she skillfully cast a spell upon him.  
  
A beam of light was sent straight at him and caught him in his tracks. The beam broke into a thousand sparkles that circled around Syaoran. Then they covered him head-to-toe and soon he was just a figure of light. The light shrank to the size of a little puppy. The light sparkles receded and faded away but what was left was a small puppy. It let out a few barks and the woman went back into her house, satisfied.  
  
A/N: I'm really sorry if some things here are inaccurate. I don't know if Japanese kids graduate normally when they're around 18 years old. I don't know if they normally live in dorms when they're in college. I don't know even know if what they have are called "high schools." I don't know any of this because I've never lived in Japan. If there are any such errors please notify me through e-mail or reviews. 


	2. Chapter 1: A Cute Little Puppy

**Lost Stray Lover**  
  
Full Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn't know this. She takes him in and takes care of him. Syaoran eventually falls in love with her but she doesn't even know who he is. Will he be able to break the curse to tell her how he feels?  
  
A/N: Please people, don't review someone's story just to plug your own. The point of reviews is to help an author with his/her writing. Not to advertise. But anyway, why is Syaoran younger than Sakura? Cause I said so. Heh, no there's really a reason. I needed an excuse for Syaoran and his little friends to go and vandalize the old lady's house, what better than him being a teenager who just graduated? And I needed Sakura to have her own place so there'd be no parents interfering with the keeping of Syaoran. Good enough reason? No? Well too bad. BTW, I forgot to add this; Syaoran's a beagle. Cause beagles are so cute and they're my favorite kind of dog.  
  
Chapter 1: A Cute Little Puppy  
  
Dangerous Streets of Tokyo

* * *

Syaoran journeyed for months throughout Japan to find someone who can help him break the curse. He's exhausted so he stopped in Tokyo to rest. Syaoran slept behind a dumpster in a dark alley.  
  
Suddenly, a loud explosion woke him up with a start. Then debris came falling down on him from a nearby apartment building. Syaoran ran as fast as he could with his little doglegs to escape.  
  
A gas explosion had occurred in one of the apartments and it was now on fire. Everyone that lived in the building came rushing out in a hurry. Few had noticed the small puppy running as well so he nearly got trampled many times.  
  
Syaoran dashed a couple blocks away from the building where the explosion had occurred. He ran under some stone steps for protection and stayed there for the next few hours.  
  
Sakura Driving in Her Car

* * *

The pounding silence in the car was bothering Sakura so she decided to turn on the radio. Country music? Nah. She flipped through the stations impatiently. _Pop? I guess that's okay. Ooh B.o.A., I like them.  
_  
As Sakura neared her apartment building, she noticed smoke coming from a building several blocks away and debris fallen everywhere around it. She abruptly stopped the car and came out to investigate the scene. Then she heard a small noise, like a frightened animal. _What is that?_ She thought. It was coming from under her apartment stairs. Sakura walked slowly over to her apartment and knelt down. She peered under the stairs and found an adorable, frightened puppy.  
  
"Aww a cute little puppy dog. You poor thing, you must be so scared. C'mere." Sakura crowed.  
  
Syaoran came out of his hiding spot and ran into her arms. They were so warm and comforting! He wanted to stay like this forever! Syaoran closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.  
  
Sakura carried the cute puppy into her dorm. Her roommate, Kohaku, was out of town for the weekend visiting her parents, so she had the place all to her self. She set him on the couch to sleep and watched him slumber. He made a cute little snoring noise and he breathed in and out.  
  
On the Couch

* * *

A few hours after Sakura had put Syaoran to sleep, he began to wake up. He gave a big yawn as he slowly opened his eyes. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was a big explosion and chaos everywhere. People running and screaming, debris flying everywhere. Then it hit him. That girl, she saved him. _She was very pretty_, he thought, _with beautiful green eyes that looked like gemstones and long brown hair. This must be her place.  
_  
However, Sakura was nowhere to be seen. Syaoran barked a few times hoping to get an answer. He did not have to wait long. Soon after, Sakura emerged from her room.  
  
"Hey puppy, you're awake now. Are you hungry or thirsty?" she asked him. Syaoran happily nodded and barked. He was starving! Traveling on foot throughout Japan was not easy. Most places he stopped had dumpsters but he wasn't big enough to climb into them. Sakura went into the kitchen to fix up something for him to eat. Curiously, Syaoran followed her.  
  
"Hmm..We don't have any dog food. I've never had a dog before. Well, I guess it's ok. Dogs eat anything anyway." She chuckled. "How about some ham? I know dogs like meat." Sakura took a pack of ham out of the refrigerator. She took a few slices out and fed them to the puppy.  
  
Syaoran gobbled them up quickly. Sakura smiled and filled a bowl with some water and set it down in front of him. He lapped up the water with his tongue. He was so cute! She just sat there watching him.  
  
After he was done, Syaoran ran up to Sakura and rested in her lap. She smiled and stroked the fur on his back.  
  
"You know, this is my first time having a pet. Ever. When I was younger my parents never liked having animals in the house. The only thing close to an animal in the house was my older brother, Touya. He was such a meanie. But he did take care of me. I'm really grateful for him." Sakura reminisced. "Puppy, I think you need a name. What should I call you? How about..Rei? Yea, I like that name. Rei. How about it, Rei? You wanna stay here?" Syaoran/Rei nodded and went to sleep again.

A/N: The new bars that ff.net decided to used are a little funky. Sorry, if you get a bit confused about 'em. The words right above the bars tell where the scene is taking place.


	3. Chapter 2: Adjustment

**Lost Stray Lover**  
  
Full Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn't know this. She takes him in and takes care of him. Syaoran eventually falls in love with her but she doesn't even know who he is. Will he be able to break the curse to tell her how he feels?  
  
Chapter 2: Adjustment  
  
Sakura's Dorm

* * *

Syaoran woke up once again in Sakura's dorm. This time, he found himself lying on a cushion. In front of him, he found a big TV set, complete with a DVD player and everything.  
  
_Cool! I haven't watched TV in forever!_ He thought. Syaoran jumped up to the TV set and reached his paw out to the power button. _Almost there, just a little bit further_. He tapped the button and the TV clicked on with a flash. _Yes!_  
  
He wagged his tail in delight and sat in front of the TV, staring in wonder. The TV was showing some sort of soap opera. It was about a man named Rei who cheated on his wife and now she was kicking him out of the house.  
  
Rei? Wasn't that what that girl had named him? What a name. Rei. 'My name's not Rei! It's Syaoran!' he wanted to tell her. But that was impossible in his dog form. _I guess I'll just have to get used to it.  
_  
The noise from the TV had awoken Sakura. She came out of her room with messy hair and her pajamas on.  
  
"Whoa! Rei! You turned on the TV? You're such a smart little puppy!" she cooed. Little did she know that he was very familiar with many human devices. He smiled and gave her a friendly bark. Sakura went to go get the ham out of the refrigerator again. She took a few slices out and set them down in front of him, along with a dish of water.  
  
He wolfed down the ham and drank the water. Sakura watched him while he ate. What a cute puppy he was! She was very lucky to have found a nice dog like him. Sakura glanced at the clock and saw that it was 8:00 AM.  
  
"Hoe! I'm going to be late! Thanks for waking me up, Rei!" Sakura said. She hurried back to her room to pack her books and work. At this moment, Syaoran just realized he still didn't know the girl's name yet. He trotted into her room looking for her. He could make out her name on one of her binders. Sa-ku-ra. Sakura! Her name was Sakura!  
  
Sakura quickly shoved all her books and binders into her backpack and sped toward the door and turned off the TV. She noticed the puppy following her.  
  
"Sorry, Rei. I have to go to college now. But I'll see you in the afternoon around 2 when I get back home. There's some ham and water by the couch if you get hungry. Bye!" She said as she left.  
  
_She's gone now. So I guess this means..I have the whole place to myself!_ Syaoran thought happily. _What am I going to do all day? Oh well. I'll just watch TV.  
_  
So he tapped the power button again and sat in front of the TV.  
  
In Class

* * *

The professor, Terada-sensei, was droning away about something. Sakura wasn't really paying attention because she was too busy thinking about the puppy.  
  
_Maybe I should buy some dog food for him? And some toys. Okay, I'll stop by the mall on the way home._ She thought. _I'll ask Tomoyo-chan to come with me, too._ Tomoyo loved going with Sakura to the mall and dressing her up in all sorts of outfits.  
  
Eventually, Terada-sensei stopped talking and started handing out the assignment. She quickly grabbed it as the bell rang and hurried out the door. Sakura walked out the building and met up with Tomoyo near the lunch area.  
  
"Hello Sakura-chan!"  
  
"Hello Tomoyo-chan! Hey, do you want to go to the mall with me after classes are over? I need to get some stuff."  
  
Stars appeared in Tomoyo's eyes. "Of course! We can try on lots of new outfits on you and I can film you!" She gushed. "What kind of stuff do you need to get Sakura-chan?"  
  
"Oh I found a puppy near my dorm yesterday. I need to get him some food and toys and stuff." She said. "He's very cute!"  
  
"Really? Can I see him sometime?"  
  
"Sure! Actually I can show him to you today, if you'd like."  
  
"Of course I'd like to! Thank you!"  
  
"You're welcome." Sakura smiled. "Hey Tomoyo-chan? Have you ever had any pets?"  
  
"Nope. Why?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Sakura frowned a bit. "Well I haven't either, so I'm not exactly sure how to take care of a dog."  
  
"Don't worry. You'll figure it out." She reassured Sakura. "You'll just need to adjust a bit."  
  
"Thanks. You're probably right. Everything will okay." Sakura said as she shook away all her doubts.  
  
A/N: Now that school's out (for me anyway) I'll be able to update more. Yay! 


	4. Chapter 3: Mall Guys and Meeting Rei

**Lost Stray Lover**  
  
Full Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn't know this. She takes him in and takes care of him. Syaoran eventually falls in love with her but she doesn't even know who he is. Will he be able to break the curse to tell her how he feels?  
  
A/N: I don't know what the popular mall stores are in Japan so in the chapter I'm going to be using popular American mall stores okay? Just..pretend that they're Japanese stores.  
  
Chapter 3: Mall Guys and Meeting Rei  
  
At the Mall

* * *

"Oh look! Hecht's! We have to go there! They have really cute tops!" Tomoyo said.  
  
Sakura sweat dropped. "Tomoyo-chan we've already been to Dillard's, JCPenney, and Aeropostale." She says while holding up numerous bags stuffed with lots of clothing. "I really don't think we need any more clothes. I need to save up some money for next year's tuition."  
  
"Oh come on, Sakura. We can just take a look at the stuff they have." Tomoyo did a puppy-pout.  
  
Sakura sighed in defeat. "Fine, fine. Just a look." Although she knew that Tomoyo was going to buy lots more clothes anyway.  
  
When they arrived at Hecht's Sakura set down all the bags and started sifting through them. She then realized that she could not find the puppy's toys and food. Sakura started panicking.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan! The things for the puppy are gone, do you have them?" she asked.  
  
"Hmm..I don't have them. Maybe you left them at the pet store?"  
  
"Okay, I'll check there!" Sakura said quickly and dashed off.  
  
The pet store was on the other side of the mall so Sakura had a long walk to it. But she didn't mind it. She was very used to jogging and taking walks often.  
  
Sakura immediately started searching around the store for the bag with items for Rei. A store employee noticed her searching for something and walked up to her.  
  
"Hello miss. Do you need some help locating an item?" The employee said politely.  
  
She stood up and looked at the employee. He was rather handsome. He was very tall and had sort of dirty blonde hair with clear blue eyes. She looked at his nametag. His name was Suzuhara Satoshi. He was smiling at her and she blushed a little.  
  
"Er..yes. I purchased some things for my dog earlier and I think I may have left the bag here. It had a squeaky toy in it and a bag of dog food." She said nervously.  
  
"Oh we have your bag over here by the counter." He walked towards it and Sakura followed. On the counter was a blue bag with the store's logo on it. She looked inside and there was her stuff.  
  
"You ran off so quickly after you bought you must've left it here." He said.  
  
"My friend Tomoyo kept dragging me to every clothes store in this mall. Anyway, thank you so much for helping me find it!" She thanked him and bowed.  
  
"Anything for a beautiful girl like you." He said chivalrously. She blushed and walked out the store and back to Hecht's.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan! It's getting a little late! Let's hurry up and get back to my dorm so I can show you Rei!" Sakura told her.  
  
"Rei?"  
  
"Oh that's what I named the puppy. You like it?"  
  
"Yea, I like that name!" Tomoyo said.  
  
"Okay then, let's go!"  
  
Tomoyo look very disappointed. "Sakura didn't get to try on all these clothes I picked out. I guess we'll just have to take them all and try them on at the dorm." She went to the cashier and bought all the outfits. "Sakura will look so kawaii in these! Ohohoho!"  
  
Sakura sweat dropped and walked with her back to the car.  
  
Back Home

* * *

Syaoran had gotten bored with the TV and decided to play around with Sakura's boom box. Listening to all of her pop- ish CDs made him drowsy so he fell asleep.  
  
A few hours later a clicking at the door woke Syaoran up. It sounded like keys. _Sakura must be coming home.  
_  
He jumped in delight and ran for the door. It opened to a happy Sakura as she saw Syaoran in front of her barking.  
  
"Hey Rei! I'm home! Look! I brought a friend, too! Her name is Tomoyo. Be nice to her, okay?" she told him.  
  
Another pretty girl walked into Sakura's dorm. She had long violet hair that curled at the ends. She had pretty purple eyes that twinkled with joy as she saw the puppy.  
  
Tomoyo bent down on her knees to pet the puppy. "Sakura-chan, he's very kawaii! You're so lucky!" Syaoran played around with her and gave her hand a lick. "Ohhh! I'm so jealous! I wish I could've found a puppy like him!"  
  
"Well you can come visit Rei anytime you want, Tomoyo-chan!" Said Sakura as she was getting some water and food for him.  
  
"Really? Thank you Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo said merrily. "I need to get home now but I'll come back some time okay?"  
  
"Sure!"  
  
Tomoyo put all the clothes she had bought for Sakura in her closet and left.  
  
"Oh Rei! I got a toy for you today!" Sakura got it out of the bag and held it up for him. "It's a squeaky ball! Here, try it!" She threw the ball towards him and he caught it in his mouth and squeaked it a couple times. He dropped it and started chasing it. Sakura giggled and petted Syaoran.  
  
"I'm glad you like it."  
  
A/N: Like it? Then review! A little preview for next chapter: Sakura tells Syaoran about the cute mall guy, how will he react? 


	5. Chapter 4: Jealousy Strikes and a Homeco...

**Lost Stray Lover**  
  
Full Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn't know this. She takes him in and takes care of him. Syaoran eventually falls in love with her but she doesn't even know who he is. Will he be able to break the curse to tell her how he feels?  
  
A/N: Sorry for the late update. I've been kinda busy and just sorta forgot about this ;;  
  
Chapter 4: Jealousy Strikes and a Homecoming  
  
Sakura's Dorm

* * *

The next morning Sakura woke up early at 6:30 to do some homework she'd been putting off for a while. Going to the mall yesterday didn't help any either. The new puppy had been taking her mind off things, which was good, but also bad. She wasn't so stressed about school when she found the puppy but now she had a mountain of work to do.  
  
Sakura yawned and started getting to work. She began digging to through her backpack to find her laptop. Sakura had a 2000 word essay due by the day after tomorrow about common pet illnesses and their treatments._ It's a good thing I'm becoming a veterinarian, if Rei ever gets sick, I can take care of him._ She thought.  
  
Syaoran heard the clickety-clack of the laptop and noticed it was coming from Sakura's room. He decided to go in and investigate. _Maybe she's up early.  
_  
The door of Sakura's room slowly creaked open as Syaoran nudged it forward. Being a dog was frustrating sometimes. Since he was so small he had to struggle very hard to simply open a door. Sakura saw the door open but to her surprise there was no one there.  
  
"HOEEE!!! It's a ghost!!" She screamed and hid beneath her sheets.  
  
The dog's eyes widened in confusion. He heard Sakura scream for some reason. _Is she afraid of ME? What is she talking about? There's no ghost here!_ He thought. Syaoran barked to signal that it was only him, no ghosts.  
  
When Sakura heard his bark she poked her head out from under the sheets. "Rei? You scared me!" She was so relieved to see the cute beagle at her door wagging his tail. "I thought it was a ghost when the door opened and there was no one there!"  
  
Sakura look at the clock. It was 7:30. She had been working long enough. Her essay was almost done so she decided to take a break and went into the kitchen to make some breakfast. Syaoran went with her.  
  
Inside the kitchen was his squeaky ball. Syaoran started squeaking and chasing it.  
  
Sakura chuckled. "You really love that thing, don't you? Good thing I got it. You know, I almost lost that at the mall. But then I went back to the pet store and this really nice guy who worked there helped me out." She said dreamily. "He was cute too. And very polite and charming."  
  
At this moment Syaoran started growling for some reason.  
  
"Rei? What's wrong?" said a puzzled Sakura.  
  
He didn't know why himself. But the thought of some guy being overly nice to Sakura seemed to make him a little mad. _Am I..jealous? Nahh, that can't be it. Sakura's really nice and pretty but..nahh.  
_  
She petted Syaoran on the head and scratched him. He seemed content after awhile. Sakura was feeling a little sleepy so she went back to bed.  
  
Later in the Afternoon

* * *

Sakura was out with Tomoyo and her other friends so Syaoran was home alone once again. He was resting on the cushion when he heard the keys clicking again and thought it was Sakura. He ran up to the door to greet her.  
  
To his surprise, instead of Sakura, a girl with shoulder- length jet-black hair came into the dorm. Thinking she was an intruder, he started barking loudly in her direction.  
  
The girl was also very surprised. What was a dog doing in her dorm? How did it get in? _Never mind that_, she thought. _I just need to get him out_. She bent down and picked up the little puppy and set him outside.  
  
"Sorry boy, you can't be in here. We're not supposed to have pets in this dorm." She said to him.  
  
_Who does that girl think she is? What is she doing in Sakura's dorm room? Crap! What am I supposed to do now? She threw me out! I guess I'll just wait until Sakura comes home._ Syaoran thought gloomily. He went back down under the stairs where Sakura had first found him and fell asleep.  
  
Later in the Evening

* * *

"Bye Tomoyo-chan! I'll see you tomorrow after school!" said Sakura as she climbed out of Tomoyo's car.  
  
"Bye Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo replied and drove off.  
  
Sakura was about to unlock the door to her dorm when she heard snoring. Snoring that sounded somewhat familiar. It was coming from under the stairs. She checked under there, saw Rei, and gasped.  
  
"What are you doing here, Rei? How did you get outside? Oh it's freezing! Let's get inside," she said and scooped him up into her arms.  
  
_Ahh finally_, Syaoran thought in satisfaction. He loved being in Sakura's arms. _Maybe I should get thrown out everyday. That girl isn't so bad after all.  
_  
Sakura opened the door and quickly let Syaoran down. He was a little disappointed. The girl who had thrown him noticed and got a little irritated.  
  
"Sakura! I just let that dog out today! He shouldn't be in here," she said.  
  
"You let him out, Kohaku?" Sakura asked incredulously. "You love dogs! And cats! And any sort of furry animal!"  
  
Kohaku sighed. "Yes, I do, but Sakura, you know we're not allowed to have pets in the dorm."  
  
"Oh but he's not very big and nobody will notice him if we don't tell." Sakura whined.  
  
"Argh fine. Just make sure he doesn't make any..messes around my stuff. And you do have to take care of him."  
  
"Sure!" Sakura said cheerily.  
  
Syaoran didn't quite understand. The girl who had thrown him out was supposed to be here? And Sakura wasn't allowed to have pets here? But she had made an exception for him. He smiled. Well, something close to a smile anyway in his dog form.  
  
"Kohaku is my roommate, Rei. She was gone for the weekend so she didn't know about you. I'm sorry." Sakura explained.  
  
"Rei? That's this dog's name?" Kohaku asked.  
  
Sakura smiled. "Yep! You like it?"  
  
"Uhh..sure."  
  
A/N: Has anyone figured out where I'm getting these Japanese names? Hehe, it's a little funny actually. If anyone can figure out where they are from then they get a muffin! Hint: various popular animes/mangas  
  
Sorry that I didn't make the jealousy scene a little longer, but what is Syaoran supposed to do? Argue back? He's a dog! 


	6. Chapter 5: Unexpected Help From An Unkno...

**Lost Stray Lover**  
  
Full Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn't know this. She takes him in and takes care of him. Syaoran eventually falls in love with her but she doesn't even know who he is. Will he be able to break the curse to tell her how he feels?  
  
A/N: A big thank you to all reviewers and readers. And as for the muffin, nobody gets it, sorry. But **Yay** and **NOYB** get a consolation cookie for good guesses! These are the answers: Rei is from MARS and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Kohaku is from Wish. Hehe, I said anime AND manga. Also Satoshi is from Marmalade Boy and Suzahara is from Angelic Layer and Neon Genesis Evangelion. But I didn't really expect anyone to get those. Anyway, happy reading!  
  
Chapter 5: Unexpected Help From An Unknown Source

* * *

Syaoran was staring out the window, clearly bored. Sakura was once again at college so he was home alone. After a few days the thrill of being in a dorm alone had all dried up. There was nothing good on TV and he was too lazy to climb all the way up to Sakura's boom box on the shelf.  
  
He started swatting a fly that was buzzing around his ear. To his annoyance, it started buzzing louder and was getting closer. He swatted harder but still couldn't squash it. But as the fly got closer to his ear the buzzes began sounding strangely like words.  
  
"Zzzz..You. Dog. Zzz. Were you not once a human?"  
  
His eyes flew open in surprise. Was he hearing right? Did the fly just ask him if he used to be a human? How could he possibly understand a fly? _Maybe I'm just going crazy_, Syaoran hoped. Being a dog obviously had side effects.  
  
"Zzz..Dog. Zzz. You were once a human, correct?"  
  
There it was again. That buzzing that sounded like words. He heard it twice. It asked him again if he used to be human. _Even if I am going crazy, it couldn't hurt to play along, right?_ He thought. _I just hope this doesn't get me into another mess._  
  
Syaoran turned his head to face the fly and nodded his head.  
  
"Zzzzz..T'was that lady magician, wasn't it? Zzz..The old one who lives alone in her..Zzz..manor. Zzz."  
  
He nodded again. _Whoa, how did the fly know that?  
_  
"Zzz..You wish to your human form, do you not? Zzz. I can help."  
  
_Well, DUH! How could I possibly NOT want to turn human again? But how's this puny little fly going to help me?_ Syaoran pondered. He decided to take his chances. Syaoran would do almost anything to turn human again. Even taking advice from a fly he had originally intended to squish. He nodded at the fly.  
  
"Zzz..There are many of us. Zzz. Many people who have been..Zzz..cursed by her. Zzz."  
  
_So this fly used to be human, too? Figures. How else would it know how to talk?_ He thought. _That magician sure is a big pain in the butt._  
  
"Zzz..I will find some more..Zz..who have been cursed. Zz. We will..Zz..come meet you. Zz..I must go now. Zz. Don't try to smash me next..Zzz..time." And the fly was off.  
  
Syaoran wanted to ask it lots of questions. Who else had been cursed? Where are they? How could he be changed back? But that was impossible in his dog form. He just watched it fly off and wonder when it would come back. _It said it would bring others. Other who had been cursed by the magician. Are they all animals?_ He was suddenly grateful he wasn't turned into a blade of grass. Or a doorknob.

* * *

Sakura came home in the afternoon and gave Syaoran his food and water, as usual. But instead of playing with him and his squeaky ball, she went directly to her room and closed the door.  
  
Syaoran assumed she was studying and doing homework, and that stuff was very important. But he was getting pretty lonely and bored. He hoped maybe the fly would come back with some news about the lady magician or other people who been cursed but it didn't.  
  
A few hours passed but Sakura still remained in her room. It was late and the sky was dark. Syaoran thought about going into her room, but decided it would be better not to disturb her. He would just wait for her to come out when she was done. Well. Maybe.  
  
_This is driving me crazy! There's nothing to do and Sakura's stuck in her room. Maybe I could just take a little peek_, Syaoran thought, _I won't make any noise or bother her. Just a little peek.  
_  
So he crept to her door and opened it slowly. She was working on her essay again and she looked really tired. He felt a little sorry for her. _She must be working really hard_, Syaoran cursed himself for being selfish, _and here I am just doing nothing and being a burden on her_.  
  
Unfortunately, at that very moment he tripped over one of his feet and fell through the crack in the doorway, alarming Sakura.  
  
"Oh Rei, it's you. That's the 2nd time you've scared me like that." She said, relieved.  
  
_Dammit, I scared her?_ He looked very sorry and was angry with himself for intruding.  
  
She smiled. "Aww. It's okay. C'mere." She picked him up cuddled him.  
  
This time he really smiled and barked in joy. She stroked his fur and petted him on the head. He was glad that he came in after all.  
  
"Mmm..I'm really tired." Sakura yawned and turned off her computer. She went to bed right after and fell asleep. But what she didn't know was that she was still holding Syaoran. So he fell asleep with her, on her bed, in her arms. And it was the best night of his life.  
  
A/N: Haha, damn I'm so cliché. That last sentence? It came from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I came up with the idea that they'd fall asleep together on my own but then I remembered Buffy and Spike and that sentence just came to mind hehe. That wasn't too bad right? Well if it is, keep in mind I made this all up in about 3 hours. I'm a lazy bum. I'll admit it. 


	7. Chapter 6: Lost in Tokyo, Part 1

**Lost Stray Lover**  
  
Full Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn't know this. She takes him in and takes care of him. Syaoran eventually falls in love with her but she doesn't even know who he is. Will he be able to break the curse to tell her how he feels?  
  
A/N: To answer **Silly In Pink's** question from last chapter, Ying Fa means cherry blossom in Cantonese, which is a dialect of Chinese. Syaoran, being from Hong Kong, would speak Cantonese so many people use it in their fanfics. I wouldn't recommend using it in a fic because, to anyone who is fluent in Chinese, it would sound just really stupid. When people try to use Chinese in their fics, and they're not Chinese or fluent in Chinese, it usually comes out sounding really stupid, cause they always use it incorrectly. Same for Japanese. Or any other language for that matter. Sorry if I sound..arrogant. I'm actually pretty stupid.  
  
Why don't you guys like Syaoran being younger? When you're older, age doesn't matter that much, anyway. My friend's parents are 9 years apart. None of their old school friends are gonna be there, except Tomoyo, so it won't really matter.  
  
Chapter 6: Lost in Tokyo, Part 1

* * *

A few small beams of light came shining through the blinds in Sakura's room onto Syaoran's face. He opened one eye and shut it and did the same with the other one. He did this a few times and then yawned.  
  
_Where am I? This looks like Sakura's room. How'd I get here? Ohh..yea_, He thought as he remembered last night with a goofy grin on his face. It wasn't as if they'd done anything bad (after all, how could they?), but he still quite enjoyed simply being in her arms. It was very..comforting. It made him feel better about being stuck in a dog's body.  
  
Syaoran looked at the clock and saw that it was still fairly early, 6:15 A.M. He yawned again and decided he would go back to sleep.

* * *

Sakura woke up a few hours later. It was now nearly 8:00 A.M. I'd better get going, she decided and got up to get dressed. As she was getting up, she noticed something beside her in her bed. Sakura removed the cover and saw that it was the puppy. She smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the head. She went into the kitchen to put out some food and water for him and then she was off.

* * *

Syaoran woke up again at 10:30 A.M. and found that Sakura was gone. He was a little disappointed and kind of wished he hadn't slept longer. He headed to the kitchen to get some breakfast.  
  
While he was chomping on the food, Syaoran was deciding what to do the whole day. _Nothing much to do around here_, he thought gloomily. Then he remembered the fly. _Hmm..maybe I could go out exploring for a bit. That fly found me, so surely there must be others like us pretty close to here? I won't be long. Sakura won't even know I was gone.  
_  
He looked around for a method of escape. He couldn't go out the front door; it was locked and there was no dog flap. He was _definitely_ not going through the vent. It would really suck to be clogged up in there all day. Then he noticed the windows. The one in Sakura's room was slightly open. Perfect! He could jump up there and squeeze through.  
  
At first, he had a little trouble with the jumping. Stupid stubby doglegs! But eventually he got up to the window and jumped down to the ground. Unfortunately for him, he landed in a big bush. And bushes are hard to navigate these days when you're a little beagle puppy.  
  
_Ouch. Gees, this thing has some thorns! Why the heck would they need a thorny bush around a college dorm?!_ He struggled around in it, but that didn't seem to help. In fact, it made it worse. The thorns scratched him even more when he did that. _Okay, calm down. I gotta try and find a path out of this thing._ He pushed some branches in it around. After awhile, he finally got out.  
  
When he came out of the bush he had leaves and branches sticking out of his fur. He quickly shook those out. At least he had not been badly hurt. A few scratches here and there, but he was okay.  
  
Finally, he was on his way. Syaoran didn't know anything about Tokyo but he figured it wouldn't be too hard to find his way. He was going to go too far anyway. Just a little exploring.

* * *

"Wow, it's really warm and sunny today isn't it, Sakura- chan?" Tomoyo asked, while shielding her eyes with her hands.  
  
"Yea, it sure it. It was even warm in the morning. I had to open the window to get a little breeze." Sakura said. Right after, her eyes opened really wide and she gave a small gasp.  
  
Tomoyo heard this and asked, "What's wrong?"  
  
"It's nothing. I just remembered that I left Rei in my room this morning, with the open window. You don't think he might try and run away, do you?"  
  
"Nah..why would he run away? He would be away from you," Tomoyo smiled. "Who wouldn't want to be with you, Sakura- chan?"  
  
"Mm..okay." She still had a bit of a worried look on her face.

A/N: Sorry it's a little short but I had to split up this part into 2 chapters so there wouldn't be one HUGE chapter. The next part'll be up in a week or so.


	8. Chapter 7: Lost in Tokyo, Part 2

**Lost Stray Lover**  
  
Full Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn't know this. She takes him in and takes care of him. Syaoran eventually falls in love with her but she doesn't even know who he is. Will he be able to break the curse to tell her how he feels?  
  
A/N: Sorry, I'm a few days late. Went on a last minute trip to Six Flags in Atlanta so I couldn't write anything.  
  
Chapter 7: Lost in Tokyo, Part 2

* * *

_Where am I?_ Syaoran thought worriedly. He had been wandering around Tokyo for what seemed like hours. If only he had paid attention in high school geography, then perhaps he would've known that Tokyo was a huge city with more than 26 million people.  
  
The surroundings were not at all familiar. Being from a small town like Tomoeda, Syaoran wasn't used to the big city scene. There were buildings towering him, trash littered all over the streets, cars speeding by every second, it was enough to scare a little puppy lost on the streets.  
  
_ARGH! How the heck am I going to get back to Sakura's dorm?_ He thought. If he didn't find his way back, he'd have to spend the rest of his life as a dog scrounging around dumpsters, looking for scraps of meat, like before Sakura found him. Syaoran winced at the thought. Those months were horrible.  
  
When Sakura had found him, everything changed. He had a home with heating and comfortable furniture and people to play with. Even if it was a little boring when Sakura was gone, at least it was better than sleeping on playground slides and eating out of ripped trash bags. God, he missed her so much. What if he never saw her again? He whimpered.  
  
At that second, a few raindrops fell onto Syaoran's head. This got his attention. He looked up at the sky and saw dark gray clouds rumbling. _Great! Just great. And I thought this couldn't get any worse_, thought Syaoran sarcastically.  
  
He searched around for a place to stay while it poured. Nearby was a large tree. Syaoran ran over to the tree and sat under it for the remainder of the storm.  
  
Eventually, the rhythmic pounding of the rain splashing onto the ground began lulling him to sleep. As his eyes slowly closed he thought once again of Sakura. _I hope I make it back to her_, he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The bell rang loudly signaling the end of class. Students started packing up their belongings and leaving. In the back corner of the classroom Sakura and Tomoyo were talking and packing.  
  
"It's about time for lunch, Tomoyo-chan. Want to come over to my house to eat? I'll cook for you!" offered Sakura.  
  
"Of course! Then I can see Rei! He's so cute!" Tomoyo replied with stars in her eyes. "And you can try on those outfits I bought the other day Ohohoho!"  
  
"Ha ha ok, Tomoyo," Sakura said with a sweat drop.  
  
They walked out of the building to Sakura's car and got in it. As Sakura was driving they chatted.  
  
"So what would you like to eat for lunch?" asked Sakura.  
  
"Whatever you cook is fine with me. I know anything you cook will be delicious, Sakura-chan!" said Tomoyo with a smile.  
  
"Thanks!"  
  
Sakura drove for a few minutes until they arrived at her dorm. Sakura got out of the car slowly with a small frown on her face.  
  
"What's wrong?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Well..it's probably nothing but..Rei usually barks really loudly when he hears the car pull up."  
  
"You're worried he might be gone?"  
  
"Maybe.."  
  
"There's only one way to find out. Let's go inside."  
  
Sakura nodded and took her keys out of her pocket. She stuck a key into the door's lock and turned. A loud click was heard. She turned the knob and pushed open the door.  
  
"Rei? Are you here? I'm home," said Sakura. The worry grew in her when there was no answer. "Rei? Come out, boy!"  
  
Again, there was no answer. Only the echo of her words responded.  
  
She and Tomoyo started checking every room of her dorm in an attempt to find Rei. When they came to Sakura's bedroom, Sakura went over to the window.  
  
"Tomoyo, the window wasn't this wide when I opened it this morning!" Sakura exclaimed. "I think Rei made it bigger when he squeezed through!"  
  
"You really think Rei ran away?"  
  
"Where else could he be?" Sakura said frantically.  
  
"Well then, let's go look for him!"  
  
Sakura blinked. "What?"  
  
"Let's go look for him. You do want to find him, don't you?" asked Tomoyo.  
  
"Of course!"  
  
"Then let's go!" Tomoyo motioned towards the door with her arms.  
  
"What about class?"  
  
Tomoyo laughed. "Sakura-chan, you're not going to be able to concentrate in class anyway, knowing Rei is gone."  
  
Sakura smiled. "You're right. I really miss him."  
  
"Alright, where should we look first?"  
  
"The animal shelter."  
  
A/N: I was originally going to make Lost in Tokyo a 2 part thing but I decided I'm gonna make a 3rd part. So anyway, REVIEW! Even if you think my story sucks, I wanna hear it. Tell my why it's bad so I can make it better. And please, when reviewing, say whether you liked it or not and WHY. Especially WHY. A one-liner like "cool story" so not going to help an author improve.


	9. Chapter 8: Lost in Tokyo, Part 3

**Lost Stray Lover**  
  
Full Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn't know this. She takes him in and takes care of him. Syaoran eventually falls in love with her but she doesn't even know who he is. Will he be able to break the curse to tell her how he feels?  
  
A/N: Thank for the detailed reviews, Starry, Gold, and Atruyai! I like nice long essay reviews ;) The fly scene was cute? I thought it was kinda...weird ;;  
  
Also, I've never been to an animal shelter since my mom doesn't like dogs/cats/animals in general (--) so I don't know how the whole procedure..thingy goes.  
  
I'm sorry, I'm REALLY late. I actually wrote part of this chapter pretty early but then I had some other stuff to do and I stopped. I was working on another fic with a friend called Anna and the King and my site and we went to Six Flags and had this thing where you couldn't upload chapters and all this other crap that you don't care about but anyway SORRY! To make up for it, this chapter is longer than most.  
  
Chapter 8: Lost in Tokyo, Part 3  
  
The drive to the animal shelter was silent. Sakura was lost in thought about where Rei could be and Tomoyo did not want to disturb her. Seeing Sakura worried like that and not being able to help her made Tomoyo feel a bit depressed. With Sakura's anxiety and Tomoyo's depression the atmosphere was a very gloomy one indeed.  
  
In an hour they arrived at the Tokyo Animal Shelter. When they got out of the car and went inside a guard greeted them.  
  
"Hello. What are you looking for?" the guard asked.  
  
Sakura began, "Well see.."  
  
"Her dog ran away earlier this morning and we're looking for him. He's a small puppy. A beagle. Probably only a few months old." Tomoyo cut in.  
  
"What she said," said Sakura, pointing at Tomoyo.  
  
"Beagle eh? Right this way.." muttered the guard. He led them to the back of animal shelter, where the dogs were kept in cages. Most of the dogs were big, at least a year old. Sakura's heart sank. She did not think he was going to be here. Even so, she and Tomoyo thoroughly checked all of the cages. Rei wasn't there.  
  
Sakura left the animal shelter looking gloomier than ever.  
  
"Sakura-chan, don't worry we'll find him. We just have to keep looking," Tomoyo assured her, "We can't give up just because one option didn't work."  
  
This made Sakura smile a bit. "Thank you so much, Tomoyo- chan. You're always here for me. You're really a great friend." She gave Tomoyo a hug.  
  
Syaoran woke up under the big tree he had fallen asleep under. Oddly enough, it was a sakura tree. A cherry blossom tree.  
  
_Maybe it's a sign I'll get back?_ Syaoran thought desperately, _God, I hope so._ He trotted around Tokyo a little more. Buildings. Trees. Road. People. Cars. More buildings. Grass. More people. This was getting frustrating. Eventually he got tired and hungry. But where was he going to get any food?  
  
Nearby was a small restaurant. Obviously he could actually go in the restaurant and eat but maybe they threw out leftovers in a dumpster behind it or something. _As long as there aren't too many flies on the food_, He shuddered. Syaoran still hadn't quite gotten used to the disgusting state of the food in the dumpsters despite being in dog form for so long.  
  
He ran over to the restaurant and began looking in the back of it. However what he found was much better than dumpster food.  
  
Behind the restaurant was a young girl holding out a large pan of food. She was one of the restaurant's employees and she was dumping out some fresh food. But then she spotted Syaoran.  
  
"Aww..a little puppy. You're sooo cute! Are you hungry, puppy?" the girl said in her best baby voice.  
  
Syaoran, looking up at her, panted and wagged his tail excitedly. He gave a nodded his head and gave a friendly bark.  
  
"The chef messed up the recipe on this dish so we have to throw it out. But maybe you'd like to have it?" she asked him.  
  
He nodded again.  
  
"Okay!" She said and set down the plate of food. "Don't worry, it's not bad or anything. The chef just accidentally put too much of something in it. Don't know what. But it should still be okay." She smiled and watched him eat it.  
  
Syaoran probably wouldn't care too much if it _had_ gone bad, but this made it all that much more better. He ate all the food on the plate quickly and licked the plate after. _This is so much better than that dumpster crap_, he thought happily, _At least something is going well today_.  
  
"Well I have to get back to my job now. Bye puppy!" She waved at him and went back into the restaurant.  
  
He was now very full and satiated. It seemed like a perfect time for a nap. Again. Puppies sure need a lot of sleep. So once again, he fell asleep.  
  
Not long after Syaoran dozed off, a stray cat came out of the shadows and walked slowly over to him. The cat was gray and looked rather old. It was almost larger than Syaoran.  
  
_Looks like Aya got another one. Poor guy. And he's so young_, the cat thought, _Guess it wouldn't hurt to help him this one time_. Then the cat muttered an incantation under its breath and waved it paw at Syaoran. A Japanese symbol appeared on its head and Syaoran started glowing.  
  
Soon Syaoran's body started glowing so radiantly that it was impossible to see him at all. There was one final explosion of light. The light faded and the street returned to its normal darkness. To anyone who might've been watching, the sight would've been quite astounding. Syaoran was gone.  
  
Sakura was returning to her dorm with Tomoyo, looking more down than ever. They had looked everywhere possible but had not found Rei.  
  
"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I know you really liked Rei. And maybe we might find him tomorrow. You never know." Tomoyo said.  
  
Sakura smiled weakly. "Thanks." She knew Tomoyo was only trying to comfort her and that there really was no hope of finding a puppy in a huge city like Tokyo. He was gone forever.  
  
Just as she was about to enter her dorm, she saw a small shape curled up on her doorstep. It was small and had cute floppy ears. It was Rei!  
  
"Rei! You had me so worried!" Sakura exclaimed with glee. "But you found your way back to the dorm! Ohh you're such a smart little puppy!"  
  
"Wow, he _is_ really smart. Especially for such a young little puppy." Tomoyo added while petting Rei.  
  
_Whoa! How did I get back here?_ Rei thought as he woke up with a start. Sakura and Tomoyo's squealing had scared him for a little while. L_ast thing I remember...I was behind that restaurant and that girl gave me food. Weird. Aww who cares? I'm back!_  
  
He licked Sakura on her cheek and she smiled. Then they went inside.  
  
A/N: Whoo! Yay! For a while I was actually considering letting Syaoran be found by someone else and have Sakura go through the trouble of find him there but then that'd be another chapter of Lost in Tokyo --;; Okay so it wasn't that much longer, but I tried! I just can't write huge long chapters. 


	10. Chapter 9: The Fly Returns

**Lost Stray Lover**

Full Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn't know this. She takes him in and takes care of him. Syaoran eventually falls in love with her but she doesn't even know who he is. Will he be able to break the curse to tell her how he feels?

A/N: Ayame, I don't exactly know what you mean by "Kohaku is a BOY, not GIRL." If you mean, Kohaku is a boy name, not a girl name then...you're wrong. I mean, I'm no expert in Japanese names but Kohaku can be used as a girl name. In the manga Wish, Kohaku is the name of the angel staying with Shuichiro. And the angel was female. Well actually...Tokyopop made a little note saying angels don't have genders but they used feminine pronouns for them. Err...so I guess...Kohaku can at least be a _feminine_ name, if not a female name? ;;

Atruyai, sorry but Syaoran's not gonna be Syaoran until like the last few chapters. I plan on making this story about 12-15 chapters long so...chapter 11-14? Loooong way from now. I'm obsessed with him too; he's so kawaii!

I just realized I forgot to put the little dividy thingys in last chapter. D'oh! bonks head on wall Also, I checked the dating in my previous chapters and it's actually supposed to be Thursday right now (Kohaku returned on Monday and Lost in Tokyo, all 3 parts, was only 1 day) but I'm skipping ahead to the weekend.

Sorry for the MAJOR lateness but...school and crap. Y'know, the usual.

Chapter 9: The Fly Returns

* * *

It was a Saturday night and Sakura was sitting on the couch, reading a book. Syaoran had just woken up from a nap. He spotted her on the couch across from his cushion and trotted over to it. He crawled up to Sakura's legs and curled up into a ball and looked up to her with his adorable puppy face.

Sakura smiled and said, "So you're awake. Did you have a nice nap, Rei?" He nodded. She sighed and petted him on the head. It was late and she was getting drowsy. Her eyes began to slowly close and drift into sleep when the phone rang.

Her eyes jumped open in surprise. It took Sakura a few moments to collect herself. She shook her head and picked up Rei from her lap and set him down on the couch.

"I need to go get the phone, okay?" Sakura said and walked into the kitchen. "Hello? Yes, this is Sakura. Oh hi Eriol-kun! Sure, I'd love to have lunch with you tomorrow! Let's meet at the restaurant. Okay, bye!"

She came back looking happier than ever. Sakura picked up Rei from the couch and spun him around in circles. Eventually, this made him very dizzy and he started to whimper.

Sakura finally set him down and started petting him. "Sorry, Rei. I'm just so happy! Tomorrow I'm going to have lunch with my friend Eriol! Yay!" she said and skipped off to her room, leaving Rei sitting there, open-mouthed, gaping at her.

* * *

Syaoran was lying on the carpet with a frown on his face. He had hoped he and Sakura could spend Sunday together. Go to a park or something. But instead he stuck inside, all alone, while she was out having lunch with some guy.

_Who is she with again? I think Eriol was his name. What a stupid name. Eriol. I don't like that name_, Syaoran thought pessimistically. Of course, truly, he couldn't care less what the guy's name was. It was the fact that Sakura was with this Eriol instead of him that pissed him off the most. But he'd never admit that to himself.

While Syaoran was lost in his angry thoughts, a small figure in the distance was slowly coming his way. It looked like...a fly.

_Oh great. Him. It. Whatever. Whaddya want now? I'm in a bad mood_, thought Syaoran angrily. He attempted to look angry and vicious but beagles are so cute that it was nearly impossible for Syaoran to look anything other than cute. All that showed up on his face was a slightly mutated look of confusion.

"Zzz...Hello again. Zzz. I have gathered some other..Zzz...victims. Zzz. We are having a..Zzz...meeting tonight at 7 PM. Zzz. You will be..Zzz...able to meet...Zzz...others like yourself. Zzz..Though it seems..Zzz..you have already..Zzz...been acquainted with..Zzz..some.

_What? I haven't met any other animals that used to be humans...I think_. Syaoran thought, a bit unsure of himself. He seemed to have an image of an old gray cat hovering over him. But where did it come from?

Syaoran tried to find some means of communicating with the fly. He was starting to get a bit desperate, but then he spotted Sakura's laptop on the kitchen desk. She had been working on some homework earlier that day so it was still on.

He grabbed a nearby pencil with his mouth and started punching keys on the computer. Eventually, he pulled up Microsoft Word and started typing, if that's what you called it. It was very difficult for him because he had to type each individual letter slowly with the pencil in his mouth.

"r u sure? i havent met ne others." The fly flew to the screen of the computer and read Syaoran's message.

"Zzz..I'm certain..Zzz..Rika said she..Zzz..saw you..Zzz..It matters not..Zzz..You will meet..Zzz..them soon enough..Zzz..So will you..Zzz..be there?" the fly buzzed in Syaoran's ear. That was really getting annoying.

He nodded and began to type again. "wut is ur name?"

"Zzz..I am Tatsuya..Zz.." said the fly. "Zzz..See you then..Zzz." And then he flew off into the wind.

The meeting was at 7 PM. Syaoran looked at the clock on Sakura's dresser. It was 3:00 PM. Only 4 more hours to go.

Although on the phone, Sakura had said she was just having lunch with her friend, Eriol, they actually wound up spending pretty much the entire day together. So poor Syaoran was going to be all alone for 4 whole hours..

A/N: Ok, now I know what you guys are talking about. You see, I hadn't seen Spirited Away until just 2 days ago (long time from the A/N above) and now I know why people seem to think Kohaku is a boy's name. Yes, Kohaku is indeed the name of the "River Spirit" which is Haku. But technically, it's the name of the river, not a boy. And rivers don't have genders. Whatever. I'm confusing myself. I actually hadn't figured this out until I watched the movie a second time in English. In the subtitles, it translates as "Kolaku River" so I didn't know where the heck the name "Kohaku" came from in the movie. For the person that said "Kohaku is a boy, not girl" yes, Kohaku is a boy in the movie Spirited Away. However, this is NOT Spirited Away. This is Lost Stray Lover. If somehow, you have been misled into thinking that this indeed is Spirited Away, I'm very sorry for whatever may have caused that. I could not and would not take credit for Miyazaki's masterpiece. Maybe I need to add that as well in the disclaimer?

Sorry for making Syaoran talk n00bish but he has to keep it short and sweet; he's typing with a pencil, remember?


	11. Chapter 10: The Gathering

**Lost Stray Lover**

Full Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn't know this. She takes him in and takes care of him. Syaoran eventually falls in love with her but she doesn't even know who he is. Will he be able to break the curse to tell her how he feels?

A/N: I was reading InuYasha manga and it turns out Sango's _brother_ is named Kohaku. Xx Darnit! Chikichiki also mentioned that too but I hadn't read my reviews in a while --;; sowwy. Kohaku sounds like a girly name to me :P

Rei is a beagle so his fur would probably be white with spots of brown and black. I'll see if I can draw a picture of him and color it in Eriol's really not up to anything. He's just...there XD

Tatsuya? A cool fly? Hmm...i derno. He is a fly after all XD Can anyone guess where I got that name?

You know what I just realized? I have this awful habit of making days longer than they should be in my story. Lost in Tokyo was all 1 day and it took 3 chapters! I seem to be dragging out my story and it's pissing me off. I gotta work on that. I think I'm trying to cram all this stuff into one nice neat package and it's just not working.

Chapter 10: The Gathering

* * *

It was now 6:30 and only half an hour to the meeting. Syaoran was anxious to meet the others who had been transformed like him by the lady magician. He decided to start off for the alley where it was being held.

_Sakura's not going to be home for a bit so I guess it's okay if I go now_, he thought as he jumped again through Sakura's open window. _Damn bush again! ARGH!_ Thankfully this time he knew how to navigate around the bush and didn't take as long going through it.

The alley where the meeting was held was pretty close to the dorm. Syaoran only had to walk a little while before he had arrived. Not many animals were there, yet. A rat, some birds, and of course, Tatsuya the fly.

"Zz..Welcome dog..Zz..I'm glad that..Zzz..you have come..Zz," he said. "Zz..We are still..Zz..waiting on some..Zz..people, but make..Zz..yourself at..Zz..home."

Syaoran walked over to a corner and sat down. He knew no one there so he just waited patiently for the others to arrive. The other animals were all huddled together and whispering about something. It was probably him. Guess they haven't had a newcomer in awhile, he thought. It didn't bother him; he was used to it. Back when he was a human, girls were always whispering and giggling about him.

Slowly, one by one, the rest of the animals appeared. Five gerbils, a possum, a raccoon, two spiders, a squirrel, a peacock, a frog, and finally, Rika the cat.

When Syaoran saw her, he immediately recognized her. _You're the one who saved me, aren't you? When I fell asleep in that alley._

"You're right. I am," She replied.

_Thank you very much. If it wasn't for you I might be dead by now. But how did you do it?_

"I am a mage, like the one who turned us all into animals."

_But if you can do magic, how come you're still a cat?_

"I can only do simple magic like moving things with my mind. Nothing powerful such as human transformations. Besides, that old witch's magic is far more powerful than mine so I couldn't undo any of her spells." Rika explained.

Syaoran looked sad. He had hoped Rika might be able to turn him back.

"Don't worry. Tatsuya says he may know a way to turn us all back. That's why he has called us to this meeting."

Tatsuya flew over to Syaoran again. "Let me introduce you to everyone. The rat is Sandy. We have three birds, the pigeon is Luna, the sparrow is Derrick, and the crow is Steve. All five gerbils are named William. Just call them by their color. The possum is Drew. The spiders are twin brother and sister, Chris and Christine. The squirrel is Moon. The peacock is Loretta. The frog is Greg and of course, you know Rika." As he said each animal's name they made themselves known to Syaoran.

_That lady magician certainly likes a nice variety in her spells. I can't believe one woman did all this. There must be around 20 animals here. I wonder what they all did to make her so mad_, he thought.

Immediately Rika spoke up, "Sandy stole some of her vegetables from her garden. Luna was fooling around with her husband, Derrick. Steve...well you don't want to know what he did. Only one of the Williams did something wrong actually. The brown and white spotted one was abusing her daughter. The other ones got turned because she was trying to cast a locating spell to find a "William" that her daughter was telling her about but she kept getting the wrong one. Eventually she found him, but she was in such a foul mood she didn't bother turning the rest back. Drew here was actually doing the same thing as you. Chris and Christine didn't do anything either. They were cursed because the witch cursed one of their ancestors and it was an especially powerful spell so it is passed down from generation to generation. It was so long ago; no one knows what their ancestor did. Moon, who's a girl, was a homeless camping out in her backyard. The witch likes her privacy. Loretta was one of the witch's servants and didn't come to work for a week. Loretta was sick, but she forgot to tell her. Greg came to her house trying to sell something like a vacuum cleaner or some window washer."

_What about you?_ Asked Syaoran.

"I'd really rather not talk about what I did. I'm sure you'll find out about it soon enough, anyway."

_Okay_, he replied. Then suddenly, he realized something. Something he should've realized a _long_ time ago. _How are we communicating? I can't talk. Come to think of it, how can you talk?_

Rika smiled. "I didn't say my _only_ power was moving things. I can also read minds. As for why I can talk, the witch had a bit of mercy on me."

_What about Tatsuya? Did she have mercy on him too?_

"Well...no. I was able to use some of my magic on him to allow him to talk. But it's because he is a very small creature and the spell required little energy. If I tried a spell on an animal as large as you it would fail, I'm sorry."

_It's all right. We should start the meeting anyway_.

Tatsuya finally spoke up again, "Okay, the meeting is officially in order."

A/N: WHOA, here come the _Western_ names. I just decided, aww screw these long Japanese names, I'm going to go with the classics! Although, I don't think many people name their children Moon. She's a special lady. And a special lady needs a special name. I might even write up a story about Moon's sad, sad past that led to camping in the witch's backyard. Would anyone like that?

BTW, I didn't add all the 'Z's to Tatsuya's dialogue at the end because I got lazy :P Just pretend they're there. Spell check goes crazy when I do them anyway.

Anyway, OMG OMG OMG MAJOR plot-y goodness. Even _I_ didn't plan it to have this much plot in it. And there's going to be more plot-y goodness coming up. I especially loved the stories about how each animal got turned, so much fun! Well it's to make up for all the months I sort of forgot about this. Suddenly I've been randomly getting good ideas. My muses have finally come back from vacation. Tell me what you think! I worked harder on this chapter than most.


	12. Chapter 11: The Plan

** Lost Stray Lover**

Full Summary: Sakura comes home one day, and to her surprise finds a loveable stray dog. This stray is actually Syaoran under a curse, but Sakura doesn't know this. She takes him in and takes care of him. Syaoran eventually falls in love with her but she doesn't even know who he is. Will he be able to break the curse to tell her how he feels?

A/N: I had this chapter written out a while ago. But then I lost it. But now I found it again. Sorry, but I can't really write incredibly long chapters. If I try and force it, then they'll end up just boring.

**Adriatic**: No, no, no, no, see, Luna was fooling around with the witch's husband. Sorry, I guess the word "her" is more general than I realized xD Rika is actually not Terada's Rika, just a random one I made up. I just really like the name Rika. Mysterious, eh? Hehe. Good. That's how she was supposed to be.

Chapter 11: The Plan

"So what's with this big idea of yours that'll change us back?" asked the birds.

Tatsuya answered, "Hold on, hold on. I'm getting to that. But first, let me introduce to you, the newest animal, Syaoran."

"We've already met him, Tatsuya. Now get on with the plan. We can't stay here for long." Luna interrupted.

_Wow, what a rude lady_, Syaoran thought. _Not at all like Sakura_. And once again, his thoughts drifted off to the sweet young girl who rescued and took care of him. Too bad he would have to leave her after all this was over.

"Okay, fine. Anyway, as we all know a magician as powerful as Aya can make her spells last for a long time. Eventually, her magic _wil_l diminish, though, and we well revert back to humans. But that may take years and years."

Steve spoke up this time, "Stop telling us what we already know! How do we change back?"

_Gees, they're never going to find out if they keep interrupting Tatsuya_, Syaoran thought.

Rika said, "Don't be too hard on them. They have been trapped in animals' bodies for a very long time. Anyone would be impatient after all they have suffered through."

Syaoran seemed surprised at her reply. _Oh right, you can read my mind_. Suddenly, he became a big uneasy. _Was she reading my mind when I was thinking about Sakura?_ However, he did not get a reply this time.

Tatsuya began speaking again, "I believe the simplest way to change back is to destroy the witch. Rika knows more about her than I do so she can tell us about her."

This surprised Rika. She did not think she would have to drag up her past with the witch again. "How exactly do you plan on destroying Aya?"

"I haven't completely planned it out yet. But you know the witch, surely you must know some of her weaknesses?"

_What? Rika, how do you know the lady magician_? Asked Syaoran.

"I don't want to talk about it right now," she muttered to him. To Tatsuya she said, "I know some things about her. But we will have to sneak back into her house to find out the important stuff."

"Very well. Then we shall have another meeting after we have acquired the information we need. I shall contact you all when I have set a date and place. Meeting dismissed."

All the animals were irritated about not finding out how to change back but they all agreed to come back for the next meeting. After all, it's not like they could defeat the witch on their own.

Suddenly, a hyperactive little squirrel jumped into alley. "Heya guys! Sorry I'm late, what'd I miss?" he said with a funny lopsided grin on his face.

Rika shook her head and sighed, like she knew this was going to happen. "Meeting's over, Walt. What were you doing anyway?"

"Me? Um...trying to find the nuts I buried. No luck." Walt said sadly.

Rika had an irritated look on her face, like the way a sister looks at her dumb little brother for doing something like shoving crayons up his nose. "Walt! You're frickin' human, for god's sake, you just don't look it! Start acting like one already! Or do you actually _enjoy_ scrounging around for food all the time?"

The poor little squirrel looked terrified. "S-sorry, Rika."

She sighed once again and lightened up a bit at the look on Walt's face. "Never mind. It's ok. I'm sorry, too."

After a few moments of silence, Walt finally noticed a somewhat confused looking beagle standing on the side. "Hey, who's the new guy?" he asked.

"Oh that's Syaoran. This is his first time meeting everyone. Syaoran, this Walt." Rika answered.

Syaoran slowly walked over to him. _Um...nice to meet you, Walt. So what'd you get turned for?_

"Well the old witch was my mom. I wouldn't take the entrance exams for high school after 9th grade, no matter what. She kept telling me she was going to do something about it if I didn't. And one day, she finally did. So here I am." He said lightly, like it was nothing.

_You're the witch's son? Wow, I heard about her daughter but I didn't know she had other kids_, thought Syaoran.

"Yep, she has a few kids. But we all know her favorite is her daughter, Kaede. That's the one William here was abusing. She's the only one of us who'll listen to mom and do whatever she says. She's the favorite and she knows it, too. The rest of us are just results of forgetting contraception." Said Walt, who didn't seem to be bothered by it.

_You're pretty calm about all of this, why? Doesn't it kind of hurt you?_ Asked Syaoran.

He smiled and replied, "It did at first. But I've gotten past it. Besides, I've got Rika. We've done pretty well, just the two of us. So anyway, what was Tatsuya's big plan and all to get us changed back?"

Rika said, "I'll fill you in at home. C'mon let's go." And they left, as many animals already had.

Syaoran was a bit surprised at how short the meeting was, but he was happy nonetheless. Now he could go home to Sakura. Or at least, wait for her to come back home from her date with Eriol.

When he arrived back at the apartment she was not there, so, like a good little puppy, he waited for her. After about half an hour, she finally arrived.

Sakura burst in happily with a huge smile on her face and started ranting. "Hi Rei! Oh I had a great time with Eriol! At first we were just going to lunch but at the restaurant he surprised me with tickets to this really cool theme park! So we spent the whole afternoon there riding all the rides. I just wish we had time to go on the Ferris wheel, so I could see all of Tokyo from up above!"

While Syaoran was glad to see her back, he wasn't very happy to hear what a great she had with that jerk, Eriol. And the thought of him and her snuggling up in a Ferris wheel made his fur stick up. Unintentionally, he growled a bit.

Sakura bent down and picked Syaoran up. As she was petting him she said, "Aww I'm sorry, Rei. I've kind of been neglecting you, haven't I?" She went to the kitchen to fill his bowl with food and water and set him down. Then she started to fix something up for herself. "Tell you what, tomorrow I don't have any classes, so you and I can spend the whole day doing fun stuff together! How does that sound?"

Syaoran gave an approving bark and trotted back over to her. Sakura picked him back and scratched behind his ears. He happily wagged his tail and rested in her arms. For a few moments, they stayed like this, perfectly content.

A/N: Decent amount of plot AND fluff, I think. Wow we haven't had any fluff for a while now. More fluffyness to come in the future. I've decided to extend this story longer than I originally planned. So instead of around 15 chapters, I think I'll make it around 17-20ish. No guarantees though.


End file.
